Apple Valley, CA & Lake Arrowhead, CA

Apple Valley is located at the southern edge of the Mojave Desert. Apple Valley, in combination with Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto and immediate surrounding areas, are commonly known as the Victor Valley. The primary thoroughfare through Apple Valley is State Route 18, which was given the moniker "Happy Trails Highway" within Apple Valley town limits, after the theme song of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who once resided on Outer Highway 18. The Mojave River that borders the west side of Apple Valley, is one of only a handful of rivers in the world to flow magnetic north. The town is bounded on its southern edge by the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains.

Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community in the San Bernardino Mountains, within the San Bernardino National Forest, surrounding the Lake Arrowhead Reservoir. Lake Arrowhead consists of 6 communities including Lake Arrowhead, Twin Peaks, Blue Jay, Cedar Glen, Sky Forest, and Rim Forest. It was formerly called "Little Bear Lake", until around 1920, when a group from Los Angeles, the Arrowhead Lake Company, bought the lake and the land surrounding it, and changed its name to Arrowhead Lake. There are 400 guestrooms in hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, vacation cabin rentals, condos, and rustic cabin lodges and resorts.

We went to Apple Valley to see Auntie Lesa and Uncle Scott. They took us on a one day road trip to Lake Arrowhead. Photos do not do it justice!

Tilden Regional Park - Berkeley, CA

Tilden Regional Park is a 2,079-acre regional park in the East Bay, between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge. The park contains numerous trails, providing facilities for hiking, horseback riding and bicycling. In addition to major areas of wilderness, the park includes attractions such as a model farm, an environmental educational building, a golf course, a ridable miniature steam railway, and the Regional Parks Botanic Garden. Another noteworthy attraction is the old-fashioned Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round.

Much of Tilden Regional Park is situated in the upper stretches of Wildcat Canyon which is also the location of Lake Anza. Lake Anza is about 980 ft long and the water is somewhat clear. The lake is accessible by car and available for activities such as swimming and picnicking. Jewel Lake, smaller than Anza, is accessible only by trail.

We met with family for the day to celebrate Grandpa Howard's 70th birthday, with a majority of the time being spent at the Botanic Garden.